Rose Lilly owns a flower shop. She offers delivery service for her flowers. She often uses Kris Anthemum to deliver the flowers.Kris was in the process of delivering flowers on June 24, 2021 when she had an accident. She was driving her car in a northbound direction on Elm Avenue when she saw a child playing on the sidewalk. She then saw the child dart into the street in front of her while chasing a ball. She hit the child, Rick Shaw, and caused serious medical issues, namely a fractured leg and a concussion. The repair of the femur required surgery. The value of the case is approximately 200,000 dollars.

At the time of the accident there was a question as to whether she was an employee or not. The service seemed to be a private enterprise run by Kris. However, she was required to be available from 9 am to 4 pm every day. She was paid a flat fee per run. The fee was 30 dollars no matter ho long the run was. Kris had to wear a uniform paid for by Rose. She could hire assistants but the assistants had to be approved by Rose. Rose was worried about liability and required a background check, license check as well as a credit check. All funds were paid to the florist and dispursed to the drivers later.

On the date of the accident, Kris had a personal errand to run. She was leaving the flower shop to go to a delivery on Melrose. The delivery was at a rest home near a Walmart. She decided that she would stop at the Walmart to get some aspirin. It was en route to the Walmart that the accident happened.

She was driving on Melrose when she saw the child (Rick) and realized that this was the love child of her former husband, Bill Ding, a famous local builder. She resented the child as she thought that the child was the reason for her divorce. There is some evidence from Rose's past that the child upset her and that she would kill the child if given the opportunity.

The plaintiff attorney, Dan Druff, is making things hairy. He alleges that Rose is automatically responsible for some reason. Why would he argue that? He alleges that this is clearly a case of respondeat superior. What are the arguments pro and con for the automatic responsibility? Was Kris an IC or an EE? why?

Are there any negligence issues here? If so by whom and why?